President Khalifa confers Order of Zayed on Queen

President His Highness Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan with Queen Elizabeth II after the visiting British monarch was conferred with the Order of Zayed. (WAM)

By

WAM

PublishedThursday, November 25, 2010

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Thursday welcomed at Al Mushrif Palace Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who is currently visiting the UAE.

The President and Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum were at hand to shake hands with Her Majesty upon arrival at the Palace.

Her Majesty was accorded red-carpet welcome and then she and her host Sheikh Khalifa proceeded to the dais of honour where the British royal anthem was played as the Artillery fired 21 rounds in salute of the Queen who then inspected a Guard of Honour.

Sheikh Khalifa conferred on Her Majesty the Order of Zayed, the United Arab Emirates' highest civil decoration. He also bestowed the Order of Federation to both Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. In return, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth presented Sheikh Khalifa with the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, GCB. The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one of its elements.

The Queen also honoured Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and St. George, GCMG.

The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is an order of chivalry founded on April 28, 1818 by George, Prince Regent, later George IV of the United Kingdom, while he was acting as Prince Regent for his father, George III.

Her Majesty conferred these orders in recognition of the deep historic relations of friendship between the UAE and UK.